The Mythic Dream, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Mythological SF/F) A reimagining of 18 mythic stories with new perspectives and different settings. (107,092 words; Time: 5h:56m)

Sisyphus in Elysium, by Jeffrey Ford

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ A Moving Story of Redemption

(Greek Myth Pastiche) In which we learn what happened to Sisyphus once he quit having to push that big rock all the time. (4,098 words; Time: 13m)

Florilegia; or, Some Lies About Flowers, by Amal El-Mohtar

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Dark Fantasy) A man’s family beats a curse by creating a wife for him from three flowers. (5,436 words; Time: 18m)

The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself, by Carmen Maria Machado

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Mythic Horror) The title speaks for itself: Eric is under a curse to always be hungry, and this story pretty much describes what he eats before he (with some help) eats himself. (2,034 words; Time: 06m)

Buried Deep, by Naomi Novik

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Greek Myth Pastiche) In which we learn a very different version of the tale of the Minotaur, told by his big sister. (11,533 words; Time: 38m)

Close Enough for Jazz, by John Chu

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(SF Drama) Emily and Hock developed technology to make arbitrary body modifications, but he insists on promoting it to rich guys who want athletic physiques. (6,180 words; Time: 20m)

Live Stream, by Alyssa Wong

[Anthology]

Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Mainstream Thriller) Diana rejected Tae’s advances but he humiliated her online and now stalks her in real life. (5,739 words; Time: 19m)

Kali_Na, by Indrapramit Das

[Anthology]

★★☆☆☆

(Cyberpunk) A big corporation creates a powerful AI in the form of a Hindu goddess in virtual reality, and a young woman seeks inspiration from it when she sees what happens when trolls attack it. (7,591 words; Time: 25m)

Across the River, by Leah Cypess

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Clever and Satisfying

(Jewish Historical Fantasy) A young man seeks help from ancient forces to fight a sorcerer who has come to his town to kill Jews. (4,705 words; Time: 15m)

Curses Like Words, Like Feathers, Like Stories, by Kat Howard

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Modern Fantasy) A young woman finds evidence of an ancient Irish curse and tries to do something about it. (3,147 words; Time: 10m)

He Fell Howling, by Stephen Graham Jones

[Anthology]

★★☆☆☆

(Mythological Horror) After King Lycaon tried to honor Zeus by serving him a stew of his own son, the god cursed him by turning him into a wolf. This story tells us what happened next. (5,820 words; Time: 19m)

¡Cuidado! ¡Que Viene El Coco!, by Carlos Hernandez

[Anthology]

★★☆☆☆

(SF Fantasy) A mentally-ill young man on an undersea exploration vessel tries to get the AI working again after El Coco, the Hispanic Boogeyman, attacks the ship and his baby daughter. (8,865 words; Time: 29m)

Wild to Covet, by Sarah Gailey

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Mythical Fantasy) Thetis was a wild girl when she walked out of the wheat field, and she grew into a strange woman, who had a famous son. (7,756 words; Time: 25m)

Labbatu Takes Command of the Flagship Heaven Dwells Within, by Arkady Martine

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Space Opera) In which we learn how Captain Labbatu captured the starship Heaven Dwells Within without firing a single shot. (4,082 words; Time: 13m)

Bridge of Crows, by JY Yang

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Future Fantasy) Callen seeks a witch at the top of the mountain who might be able to save her love from the prison in which the Emperor has placed her. (4,796 words; Time: 15m)

A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy, by Rebecca Roanhorse

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆

(Horror) Dez is abandoning his acting career in mourning for Cherie, his one true love. But there is a technology that can temporarily bring her back—or something like her, anyway. (4,408 words; Time: 14m)

Fisher-Bird, by T. Kingfisher

[Anthology]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(Tall Tale) This is the story of how the belted kingfisher got her red band. (5,417 words; Time: 18m)

The Justified, by Ann Leckie

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Nice Tale, with an Unexpected Outcome

(SF Colony Dystopia) The immortal ruler of her world summons Het from her self-imposed exile to deal with a threat of insurrection. (7,893 words; Time: 26m)

Phantoms of the Midway, by Seanan McGuire

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Full of Surprises

(Horror) Aracely loves travelling with her mother’s carnival, but now that she’s a teenager, she chafes at the restriction that she can’t leave the fairgrounds. What could it hurt? (7,592 words; Time: 25m)

Robots vs. Fairies, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe

[Anthology]

★★★★☆ Recommended

(Mixed) Not stories about robots fighting against fairies but rather a set of nine robot-themed stories interleaved with nine fairy-themed stories with the reader to judge which is the victor. (103,935 words; Time: 5h:46m)